. Myths and facts - for enterprise owners, managers and buyers. Document Version: V1.0 Date: November 2015 NFON UK Ltd, 140 Wales Farm Road, London, W3 6UG, UK Page 1 of 7
1. INTRODUCTION While the business IT market is significantly tougher for Microsoft (MS) than it once was, many desktops still ring to the tune of Windows - and even if they don t, most will still be running the key office applications we ve all grown so familiar with. The enduring dominance of Microsoft has enabled millions of organisations to embrace the benefits of Unified Communications within the familiar environment of MS Lync, or Skype for Business as they now call it. As collaboration platforms go, Skype for Business has the unique advantage of natively integrating with MS address book contacts, calendar presence and other office applications - as well as more fundamental infrastructure services like Active Directory. So it s clear that Skype for Business is a powerful and compelling platform, but it has an Achilles Heel. It can t displace your expensive investment in a proper enterprise phone system. It does voice, to a point, but is not capable of even the basic telephony features which companies expect from a PBX. Or at least, not without the considerable costs, overheads and risks that come with integrating that capability at the application level - to make up for its shortcomings. 2. DISPELLING SOME MYTHS We believe that there are four common misconceptions when it comes to Skype for Business integration with telephony, and we d like to take this opportunity to go into a little myth busting about each one. 2.1. Myth Nº 1 Clever SIP integration turns Skype for Business into a telephone system. Don t make the mistake of believing the hype that numerous telecom providers are pitching about this. True, there are offerings out there that integrate the basic Skype for Business client with a PBX extension - but this is not the case when it comes to the more complex Enterprise deployments. The truth is, it s not just about a dial tone. Yes, SIP integration can enable incoming and outgoing voice traffic to work inside Skype for Business, but this is not the same as full PBX telephone system functionality. NFON UK Ltd, 140 Wales Farm Road, London, W3 6UG, UK Page 2 of 7
For example, SIP integration for Skype for Business cannot handle enterprise-grade features and functionality such as call forwarding and transfer, IVRs, call queueing, conferencing, call waiting, group pick-up and voicemail - as well as more advanced features which are now being demanded, like Fixed Mobile Convergence 2.2. Myth Nº 2 Application Integration of Skype for Business and third party applications is business-grade. If your technology supplier can bring some serious application development and integration skills to the table, there might be a way of successfully marrying Skype for Business with your PBX telephony. But the fact is that you ll still risk project failure, as well as a number of other painful realities. Third-party software comes at a cost, not only for procuring additional software licenses but also for specialist integration. It also comes with risk as future upgrades of Skype for Business will likely break the integration, and the maturity level of the system integrators who are providing the Skype for Business software is still not quite there. You have to think about the possibility of integration failure, and/or creation of bugs that compromise the features of other apps that Skype for Business integrates with. And this element of risk also extends to the possibility of disruption and delay when rolling the integration out to every single device that Skype for Business is, or will be, used on not forgetting the possibility of compromised user experience, with the user unable to apply the PBX features intuitively within the same seamless interface. 2.3. Myth Nº 3 You must buy Skype for Business licenses for all users. It doesn t make any economic or operational sense to give everyone in the organisation a Skype for Business license just so they can continue to use the phone. But that s what s driving a lot of providers to push this received wisdom that Skype for Business must be all-pervasive. But what if you re an organisation with 1,000 phone extensions but only 200 Skype for Business users? Can you do the integration without rolling out an extra 800 licenses? Of course you can! With a hybrid deployment, this allows you to offer Skype for Business integration to just those users who actually need Unified Communications services. NFON UK Ltd, 140 Wales Farm Road, London, W3 6UG, UK Page 3 of 7
2.4. Myth Nº 4 You need additional software on each client. The truth is that client add-ons represent a source of instability, plus you then have additional software to deploy and manage. True Cloud level integration provides a seamless user experience, and clientless deployments are far more scalable enabling the same Skype for Business interface to be automatically enabled with additional functions. Whatever you ve heard about telephony integration with Skype for Business, and whatever you think you already know - everything has now changed. Read on for the truth about what you can really do with Skype for Business if you have access to seamless Cloud level integration from NFON. 3. OUR SKYPE FOR BUSINESS INTEGRATION SOLUTION Our NFON for Lync (Skype for Business) solution makes all of this possible - and thanks to our collaboration with Microsoft, the technology is available with no painful implementation at the End User level. What s even more appealing, you can operate a hybrid model where you only pay for Skype for Business Enterprise licenses for the users that need it, while everyone else uses the standard Cloud telephony licenses. Many providers can give you a dial tone, and DDIs that are associated with a user - and they are classifying this as telephony. But what the market needs is a fully integrated Skype for Business enterprise solution with the full PBX telephony features that you d expect from a business phone system. Whether you re using Office 365 with Skype for Business, or Skype for Business Enterprise, you need to be able to use the same familiar interface to make and receive calls - and gain access to more than 150 enterprise-grade PBX features and functions. NFON UK Ltd, 140 Wales Farm Road, London, W3 6UG, UK Page 4 of 7
Key benefits include: Completely intuitive for users familiar with the Skype for Business environment, on desktops and mobile devices Provides a wide range of functions from both systems, with call control directly from the Skype for Business interface Full call management including IVR, queues, voicemail, missed calls and more Hybrid solution, ideal for organisations that don t need to switch all their users to Skype for Business Provides the proven capabilities of Skype for Business, without the considerable expense of having to purchase a separate server Add or remove your NFON for Lync (Skype for Business) licenses on a monthly basis, just as with all of your other NFON extensions Flexibility comes as standard with our 30 day rolling contract We can enable your existing Skype for Business Enterprise licenses and host them via our system Billing is completely transparent and completed monthly, per tariff and employee 4. HOW IT WORKS The main advantage of our integration with Skype for Business is that the client becomes a true functioning end device, and can therefore be treated as any other extension of your telephone system. This allows users to be included in all of the traditional telephony programming - such as hunt and pick up groups, as well as ACD functionality, without requiring complex changes to the Skype for Business solution. This seamless integration allows the user to work with Microsoft Outlook address book contacts, calendar presence and other Office applications, as well as more fundamental infrastructure services like Active Directory. Another advantage is the individual configurability of the system. Only your UCC-connected users need to be equipped with Skype for Business, so you can assign the service to only those users who require it, whilst the rest of your organisation can simply use our standard Cloud telephony licences. This provides a truly hybrid model which allows both sets of users to benefit from NFON s full range of telephone functions as well as being able to communicate amongst themselves, and also to be reached from the public telephone network. NFON UK Ltd, 140 Wales Farm Road, London, W3 6UG, UK Page 5 of 7
In addition, the successful auto-provisioning function of our Cloud Telephone System can be used for setting up and managing desk phones and Skype for Business users, which offers huge benefits during rollout and ongoing maintenance - optimising costs while the telephone system remains scalable and flexible. 5. FEATURES NFON for Lync (Skype for Business) delivers a softphone which can be used on any Skype for Business enabled device offering a full range of features, including: Extension and call management Call forwarding / Do Not Disturb (DND) Queues / Hunt Groups Call pick up groups IVR (Interactive Voice Response) Time controlled call routing Audio conferencing Instant messaging HD video conferencing Desktop sharing Application sharing Whiteboard sharing Office 365 integration with SharePoint, OneNote and Exchange As well as the above features, the user will also have access to the full range of over 150 built-in NFON Cloud Telephone System features, as well as a host of over value added services from NFON. 6. A SOLUTION FOR EVERY NEED As you will now see, there are good reasons why Cloud-level integration is better than client-level integration. However, for some smaller clients, this may be all they need and so we still offer both solutions. We will discuss your individual requirements, and then recommend the most appropriate solution for your needs. NFON UK Ltd, 140 Wales Farm Road, London, W3 6UG, UK Page 6 of 7
6.1. Cloud-level - Skype for Business becomes the phone All Cloud PBX functions and all Skype for Business functions are presented on one interface - the Skype for Business client acts as the terminal to the Cloud PBX platform. No desk phones are required, only the Skype for Business client, and no additional client software is required. 6.2. Client-level - Skype for Business pairs with the desk phone Provides full control/management of the desk phone from within the Skype for Business Client. Requires a desk phone, and an add-on client which is loaded onto the corresponding PC. So there you have it. True Cloud level integration between your telephone system and your Skype for Business environment is now available, if that s what your business needs. Our approach is unique in the marketplace as far as we are aware so is it time to forget some of those myths, and get in touch with NFON. 7. FURTHER INFORMATION For more details visit our NFON for Lync (Skype for Business) website page. Additionally you may find our whitepaper on Skype for Business Connectivity Planning interesting. Also, a detailed Skype for Business implementation document is available from NFON UK Business Development Team. For further details on NFON for Lync (Skype for Business) integration, or to request a copies of our additional documents, please do not hesitate to Request Information, contact us by Email, or call us directly on 0203 740 6740 where one of our team will be happy to answer any questions you may have. ---------------------- End ------------------------ NFON UK Ltd, 140 Wales Farm Road, London, W3 6UG, UK Page 7 of 7 The NFON Cloud Telephone service and access to Emergency Services (999,112) will not be available during any power cuts and network outages affecting the Customer.